School board update: solar installs planned, class-size review and music enrollment decline noted

Tom Solon gave the school-board update, reporting that purchases for solar upgrades are complete and materials are on-site and that the district hopes to finish installation this summer so it can apply for rebates once work is complete. "All of the purchases for the solar upgrades have been completed and materials are on-site," he said, and the board will consult the auditor before deciding how rebates would be applied to budgets.

Solon said the recent district meetings showed voter skepticism about some large proposals and that the SAU budget failed while other budgets passed narrowly or with reductions. He told the committee the district is reviewing class-size policy because some courses have seen enrollment drop dramatically over the last five years — "you go from double digits to single digit enrollment in some of the classes" — which can make offering multiple competing electives unsustainable.

The committee discussed a recent personnel change in the music program (a vulnerable position during a reduction-in-force) and said administration will present a policy- and enrollment-based discussion at the board’s May meeting. Solon also briefed members on regional CTE participation and said coordinated transportation and scheduling improvements have increased student access to career-technical classes.

Members also discussed a pair of state-level open-enrollment proposals: one bill failed a passage vote and was tabled; a different amendment preserving original funding levels for open-enrollment remains under consideration and could reappear as part of other legislation.